Cognitive and cortical restructuring in the acquisition of negative number concepts.

人们如何为非感性的、定量的概念发展结构良好的表征？例如，当数学家对五维进行推理时，他们是依赖于内部空间表征，还是应用一系列符号规则，还是两者结合使用？目前的研究在儿童学习零和负数的背景下解决了这个问题。到大多数孩子开始学习整数的时候，他们已经有了一种内在的空间表征，支持他们推理自然数大小的能力，即使是在以数字的形式象征性地呈现的时候。然而，最近的证据表明，儿童？零和负数推理依赖于语法规则的应用。这与大多数成年人形成了鲜明对比，他们自己已经掌握了对负数的空间表征。教学、行为和功能磁共振成像方法的结合正在研究空间体验和符号体验对大脑重组和儿童的相对影响。整数概念的发展。

How do people develop well-structured representations for non-perceptual, quantitative concepts? For example, when mathematicians reason about five-dimensions, do they depend on internal spatial representations, do they apply a series of symbolic rules, or do they use a combination of both? The current research addresses this question in the context of children learning about zero and the negative numbers. By the time most children begin learning the integers, they have an internal spatial representation that supports their abilities to reason about natural number magnitude, even when presented symbolically as digits. Recent evidence, however, indicates that children?s reasoning with zero and negative numbers relies on the application of syntactic rules. This contrasts with most adults who have developed a spatial representation of negative numbers in their own right. A combination of instructional, behavioral, and fMRI methods are examining the relative influences of spatial and symbolic experiences on brain reorganization and children?s development of integer concepts.